That Includes Hot Dogs and People

Not So Super Super Big Boy

I recently met the wife and daughter for dinner at one the four local Frisch’s restaurants located within three miles of our home. I’ve always like the burgers there, more for the way they are built than for the quality of the patty itself. Odd, but there is just something about the layers of meat, pickles, shredded lettuce and the dollop of their tartar sauce that turns my mouth into a saliva factory.

Service has been hit and miss over the years and after one fiasco a couple of years ago, my son now refuses to go even if we are buying. It’s one of my daughter’s favorite places to eat, so the three of us still make it there once every couple of months. We met there after her drum lessons last Wednesday and I ordered my usual, the Super Big boy with fries.

The first thing I noticed was the bun. It looked like the “chef” had used my sandwich as an elbow rest. Something had placed enough pressure on the bun to not only misshapen it, but it forced the upper meat patty askew. At first glance, the meat also appeared slightly overcooked. You don’t get a choice of how you would like your burger cooked at Frisch’s and normally that doesn’t bother me too much. The tartar sauce usually adds more than enough moisture and flavor to make up for a little over cooking, but this burger had another problem. I saw no tartar sauce!

It is usually oozing out the sides and all down the tower of goodness like the flow from Kilauea. This one had none of that. I did notice they didn’t forget the tiny piece of parsley and we all know how important that is to a burger. The waiter thoughtfully brought me a small container of sour cream for the baked potato I didn’t order. I asked the waiter if he could bring me a side of tartar sauce and by the time it arrived, the cheese had solidified. When I tried to rebuild it, make better than it was before, it just didn’t look like I remembered.

I guess there is something to the appearance of the food you eat affecting how it tastes. My Super Big Boy just wasn’t so super that day. Still, don’t be surprised if I give them another chance when my little girl begs me to go to Frisch’s again some day.